Life is a Spiritual Struggle:
I found this essay interesting. Joseph Laycock compared his life as a teacher to a martial arts gym, this is a strong comparison but is true.
"I am cultivating the strength of will necessary to make a difference. Like everyone else in the gym, I am training for battle. My battle is every day." This I found to be a strong quote, the battle being fought isn't just a battle at the gym but everyday challenges with his students. He teaches at a low status school but he will not give up on his students. I believe this is an important aspect because most people this day just give up on these kinds of students because they tend to not care and put up fights when help is being offered, the fact that he doesn't give up on them is great because they need someone there to support them no matter what. There are not many teachers like Laycock left out in the world as of now but it is inspirational that he is still there fighting for these students to get an education and I believe more of these teachers should be around.
Admittance to a Better Life:
Michael Oatman is an inspirational man. He was able to take his life and completely change it, from thung-like life on the streets to an educated man. Luckily Oatman was able to get out of the streets before getting killed. Part of becoming educating includes losing parts of ones past, Oatman explains his change as "like steam off of a concrete sidewalk I can feel my street cred evaporating away," he feels his past "evaporating away" as his loss while he gains more of an education and turns his life around. The essay ends with "I may feel the slight sting of isolation, but I’ll fight it off because I believe in the changes that my education has allowed me to make," this is a strong ending and leaves an impact on me as a reader. It really lets me see how much education has affected this mans life by the changes it has allowed him to make.
I found this essay interesting. Joseph Laycock compared his life as a teacher to a martial arts gym, this is a strong comparison but is true.
"I am cultivating the strength of will necessary to make a difference. Like everyone else in the gym, I am training for battle. My battle is every day." This I found to be a strong quote, the battle being fought isn't just a battle at the gym but everyday challenges with his students. He teaches at a low status school but he will not give up on his students. I believe this is an important aspect because most people this day just give up on these kinds of students because they tend to not care and put up fights when help is being offered, the fact that he doesn't give up on them is great because they need someone there to support them no matter what. There are not many teachers like Laycock left out in the world as of now but it is inspirational that he is still there fighting for these students to get an education and I believe more of these teachers should be around.
Admittance to a Better Life:
Michael Oatman is an inspirational man. He was able to take his life and completely change it, from thung-like life on the streets to an educated man. Luckily Oatman was able to get out of the streets before getting killed. Part of becoming educating includes losing parts of ones past, Oatman explains his change as "like steam off of a concrete sidewalk I can feel my street cred evaporating away," he feels his past "evaporating away" as his loss while he gains more of an education and turns his life around. The essay ends with "I may feel the slight sting of isolation, but I’ll fight it off because I believe in the changes that my education has allowed me to make," this is a strong ending and leaves an impact on me as a reader. It really lets me see how much education has affected this mans life by the changes it has allowed him to make.
This I Believe: